Chapter 424

Eating the cream ice cream, Li Heng asked, "Are you familiar with this area in Jing'an?"

Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe nodded, "I've been here a few times."

Li Heng said to her, "Then you lead the way."

Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe said okay and walked in front.

After crossing two streets and turning three corners, they reached their destination. It was a shop for women's products.

Li Heng looked up and stopped his steps automatically, "I'll wait for you outside."

Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe gave a soft "mm" and went into the store.

Shanghai in the summer is just different; women generally wear thinner clothes. It's a fashion capital, after all—so many long legs, so many big chests, so many perky buttocks, coming and going, a feast for the eyes, one after another.

There were several young men waiting for the bus on the side of the road. Li Heng mingled among them, watching the young ladies on the street until Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe came out. Only then did he ask, "Are you done buying?"

Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe weighed the bag in her hand, "Yes."

Li Heng asked, "Then come with me to Xu Hui?"

Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe nodded with a smile.

After waiting for about another 5 minutes, the two got on the bus. Since this was a bustling area, it was crowded, and there were no seats this time, so they had to stand.

Seeing many gazes gathering on her intentionally or unintentionally, and seeing a long-haired man constantly squeezing toward her, Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe took the initiative to lean closer to him.

Li Heng understood, and even reached out to pull her behind him, shielding her with his back, while spitting out one word at the long-haired man who had just squeezed over and was clearly trying to take advantage: "Scram!"

The long-haired man glared at him with dead-fish eyes, "You're asking for death—"

Before the long-haired man could finish his sentence, Li Heng had already kicked out fiercely.

Amidst a chorus of "Ah!" gasps from the surroundings, the long-haired man fell to the ground like a board.

"Damn it...!" The long-haired man spat out profanities, looking fierce as he tried to crawl up to fight for his life.

Hah! How could Li Heng, who had such rich experience in fighting, give such scum a chance? He didn't let up, following up with several knee strikes. The long-haired man suddenly went silent, lying on the ground with his hands covering his head, his back arched like a shrimp. At this moment, he clearly didn't even have the strength to speak from the pain.

Li Heng had seen plenty of these thugs; as long as you were fiercer than them, they would immediately fold.

Sure enough, at the next stop, the long-haired man who had just boarded the bus scurried away, not even daring to utter a harsh word before leaving, for fear of being beaten again.

Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe tugged on his sleeve from behind, looking up slightly with concern, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Li Heng said he was fine, then teased with a laugh, "First time I've seen you have such bad luck, actually not getting a seat on the bus."

Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe pointed quietly behind him.

Li Heng turned around and looked, his mouth opening wide. He really wanted to learn from the "dim-witted" and say "Holy crap! Holy crap!" He was truly speechless. Damn it, he had just said there were no seats, and then two seats opened up behind him, slapping him in the face. It must have been someone who just got off.

And the strange thing was, no one else dared to come and grab them; it was clear that the fierce and ruthless method Li Heng had just used to teach the thug a lesson had intimidated the people standing nearby.

Li Heng scanned the crowd and, seeing no elderly or pregnant women, immediately said to her, "Let's sit."

"Mm."

Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe gave a soft "mm" and sat by the window.

Li Heng sat in the seat next to the aisle.

Once the bus started moving, Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe finally felt completely relieved; she had been worried that the long-haired man would get off and call people to come up and retaliate against Li Heng.

She said warmly, "Li Heng, thank you."

Li Heng turned his head, waved his hand, and said, "Please, with our relationship, is there any need to say thanks?

Besides, you staying in Shanghai for the summer vacation is also to help me; I have an obligation to keep you safe."

Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe looked into his eyes, and after a while, she said softly, "When we go back tonight, I'll cook a big meal for you."

Li Heng raised an eyebrow, held his Cartier watch out in front of her, and started rambling in a way that looked like he was trying to take advantage: "It's already this late, we definitely have to go to the teacher's house to mooch a big meal before we leave."

Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe couldn't help but laugh, her gaze shifting downward to his shirt buttons. He had lost a button during his conflict with the long-haired man.

Following her gaze, Li Heng looked down at himself and realized the third button was gone, and he could see his chest muscles through the gap.

Seeing his chest inadvertently, Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe's face flushed slightly, then she shifted her gaze away calmly and turned her head to look outside.

For the rest of the journey, the two didn't talk again. She looked outside, enjoying the scenery along the way.

Li Heng focused on the bus, keeping an eye out for pickpockets and the like.

When the bus turned onto Wukang Road, Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe suddenly stood up and said gently to him, "Li Heng, let's get off."

Li Heng looked outside, "We're not there yet, there are 3 more stops."

Seeing the bus about to start moving again, Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe called out, "Still getting off," then tugged slightly on Li Heng's sleeve and took the lead, getting straight off the bus.

He didn't understand what kind of medicine this Miss Zhou was selling in her gourd. But since she had already gotten off, Li Heng had no choice but to follow.

Watching the bus drive away, Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe asked, "You're going to the teacher's house, aren't you going to buy gifts?"

Li Heng said, "I was planning to buy them at the intersection ahead; I used to buy them there too."

Hearing this, Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe didn't say anything, but focused her attention on the pedestrians and vehicles coming and going, crossing the street to a grocery store on the other side.

Li Heng followed.

Entering the store, she first bought a sewing needle and white thread, then carefully identified the buttons on his shirt for a moment. Afterward, she communicated with the owner and found 3 identical white round buttons from a large box.

Walking out of the store and coming under the shade of a tree, she handed the extra two buttons to him, "Keep them for future use."

"Oh, okay."

Li Heng said "oh," and by now, how could he not understand what she meant?

It was obvious that this young lady had seen a shop selling shirt buttons on the bus just now, so she pulled him off the bus.

Or rather, she had been keeping an eye out for such shops the whole way.

Li Heng had guessed right.

In the family education she received, visiting someone like Mr. Ba's house required proper attire and etiquette. Thinking that he had gotten into this mess because he was fighting for her, Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe felt a bit guilty. She really had been observing her surroundings the whole way, with the goal of finding a grocery store.

Seeing her skillfully threading the needle, Li Heng said, "How about I do it myself?"

Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe asked, "Can you?"

"I should be able to; I've sewn before, it's just that my craftsmanship might be a bit rough," Li Heng said truthfully.

Hearing this, Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe handed the needle and thread to him.

Li Heng took the needle and thread and started sewing it himself.

But after only a few stitches, she smiled and said, "A bit clumsy, let me do it."

Li Heng tilted his head to look at the stitches, arguing with insufficient confidence, "It's fine, how is it clumsy?"

Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe didn't argue with him; she took the needle and thread and unpicked all the stitches he had just made.

In just this short while, the two of them had unknowingly stood very, very close, almost touching.

Li Heng asked tentatively, "Should I take off my shirt?"

Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe shook her head slightly, "Stand still and don't move."

As she spoke, she twisted her fingers, knotted the end of the white thread again, and then lowered her head to start sewing.

Li Heng was about 180cm tall in his shoes.

She was 164cm tall, reaching 166cm in her shoes, and his third button was right at his chest. With their current posture, if viewed from behind, it would look like they were being intimate.

Looking down at her as she sewed the button meticulously, and smelling the faint, fresh fragrance coming from her hair, Li Heng felt an inexplicable peace in his heart. At this moment, it was as if he had been detached from the outside world.

Perhaps sensing something, or perhaps due to the tacit understanding cultivated by living in the same room for a long time, as she sewed, Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe looked up at him with a telepathic connection.

In an instant, he looked down, she looked up, and their eyes collided at close range. Then, both fell silent, holding their breath in concentration.

Like him, in this instant, it was as if she had arrived in the silent outer space. The outside world had disappeared, and the bustling traffic and buildings around them were shielded away, leaving only him, and the sound of his breathing and heartbeat.

This was the moment she feared the most.

It was also the thing she was least willing to think about deeply.

The reason she had vaguely laid her cards on the table last night was that she was afraid of this look in his eyes, and afraid that she wouldn't be able to hold back.

With their eyes meeting, Zhou Zhou Zhou Shihe's nimble little mouth pouted slightly, then she lowered her head and continued sewing the button quietly.

Halfway through, drawn by some indescribable opportunity, she looked up at him again, then slowly lowered her head once more, meticulously sewing the button on for him.

After sewing it, she brought her little mouth over, bit the thread off with her white teeth, and then knotted it skillfully.

After doing all this, she took a step back, compared the distance between the third button and the others, and seeing it met her expectations, she put the needle and thread into the box, then turned around neatly and walked away without looking back, saying nothing, not even greeting him.

Lingering on her frail back for a long time, Li Heng paused, fastened his button, and followed her with long strides.

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Posted first, edited later.

10,200 words posted.

(End of chapter)